Comparing Viral Marketing Strategies to the Six Principles
Web Marketing Today, Issue 71, February 8, 2000
This article contains older information. Go here for newer information on miscellaneous Internet marketing strategies.
In a previous article I outlined the Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing (http://wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm). If you understand these, you'll be able to develop and adapt viral marketing strategies for your own company.
- Gives away products or services
- Provides for effortless transfer to others
- Scales easily from small to very large
- Exploits common motivations and behaviors
- Utilizes existing communication networks
- Takes advantage of others' resources
To help you understand these viral marketing principles better, I've set up a comparison table that helps you see quickly how some classic viral marketing approaches utilize these six principles. Remember, to be successful, a strategy doesn't need to use all six principles, but the more principles involved, the more powerful the strategy is likely to be. By necessity I am giving the briefest sketch of a particular example company strategy, but you can explore these strategies in greater detail, both at the company URL and the Viral Marketing section of our Web Marketing Info Center (http://wilsonweb.com/webmarket/viral.htm)
|
Example |
1. Free |
2. Transfer |
3. Scales |
4. Moti-vations |
5. Network |
6. Resource |
| Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com). Affiliate program with 300,000 links on member websites. |
Yes |
Copy HTML code |
Requires robust database |
Revenue |
Affiliates' site visitors and ezines |
Affiliate's website and e-mail |
| Geocities (http://www.geocities.com) allows members to construct free websites who they invite their friends to see. On each visit an interstitial ad Geocities pops up to invite visitor to Geocities. |
Yes |
Builds website with wizard |
Requires larger servers and more disk space |
Pride in creativity, family bonds |
E-mail personal friends and family |
Member's e-mail |
| eGroups (http://www.egroups.com) allows members to set up discussion and work groups on line, and then invite their friends to be a part, who can then begin a group of their own. Invitations use eGroups resources. |
Yes |
Wizard sets up a group |
Requires larger servers |
Work productivity, family connectivity |
Family, work, and academic associates |
|
| ICQ (http://www.icq.com) instant messaging system allows members to set up accounts, who then invite friends to sign up for the service themselves. |
Yes |
Easy set-up |
Requires larger servers |
Love, keep-in-touch, chat |
Family, work associates |
Invite friends using own e-mail |
| Blue Mountain Arts (http://www.bluemountain.com) provides greeting cards which can be e-mailed to friends, who then are invited to send their own; cards. Uses Blue Mountain's mail server to send e-mail |
Yes |
Easy wizard, wide selection |
Requires larger servers |
Love, friendship, sympathy, loyalty |
Personal friends and family |
|
| The Success Doctor (http://www.successdoctor.com), Michel Fortin, allows any site to use his free articles as content, provided they include links to his site. |
Yes |
Easy download, requires HTML skills |
Easily scalable |
Growth, desire for content |
Visitors to hosts websites |
Uses hosts websites |
| GoLinQ.com (http://www.GoLinQ.com), provides free e-commerce services to retailers, distributes through chambers of commerce partners. |
Yes |
Wizard set-up |
Requires larger servers |
Desire to serve members |
Local business members |
Uses Chambers' traditional communication channels |
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